Resident Evil: Past Life
by kawaiighost
Summary: Alice woke up, cold perspiration gently sloping down her face..." With those few words, Alice is suddenly slung back into the Resident Evil world. This time, can she save the ones she loves and safely get out of the Hive herself?
1. The Flashback

"No one listened there, but men. And hearts rot still as they did, then. Now I don't want to be the one to say it, but maybe this one's too far gone for change." - Saher Galt, This One.

Chapter 1: The Flashback

Alice woke up with cold perspiration gently sloping down her face. Her dirty blonde hair was matted to her forehead like fly-paper. She was in a bed; not exactly _her _bed, but without doubt a bed. For some reason, it looked strangely and utterly familiar. The room she was in was giant, about three times as big as an average room. A feeling of coldness shrouded Alice as she lay in the bed, even beneath the many blankets. The floor had beautiful black tiles, caressing the dark, gloomy silence in the room. Along the walls of the room were at least thirty paintings. Big paintings, small paintings, canvases, every type of paintings imaginable. Other than that, there was almost nothing, besides a few mirrors and about twenty windows.

There were also several wooden dressers in the large room. One of them looked familiar, déjà vu if anything. Yet it was as if she had seen it before…opened it, perhaps. It was a rather short, beige dresser with 3 drawers, the top one of which was open; inside, it had about ten or twelve pristine white t-shirts. On top of the dresser was a picture frame with a photo inside; Alice dressed in a gorgeous white wedding dress, holding onto a rather handsome man in a tuxedo. Spence. For some reason, she remembered this man. She had never met him, not in her memory, but she just knew who he was. It was as if her very breath was ripped from right out of her lungs. A stream of hatred surged through her veins at the very reflection of Spence.

But before she could think about Spence further, she heard a smash of glass and a man screaming from another room. Slightly jumping, she strained to hear what was going on.

"They probably don't have me on file yet!" he yelled in an furiously assertive tone. A stronger and more full-toned voice replied something that Alice did not quite understand. As Alice quickly tried to get out of the large bed she was in, a woman came into the room. She was a well-built, tough looking woman, with her hair tied back into a pony-tail.

"Report, soldier." She said in an firm voice, as the two of them locked eyes.

"What?" Alice questioned, breaking the momentarily intense stare.

"Your report?" The woman said again, this time looking slightly irritated. Alice didn't understand what she was asking for, but before she said that, about nine or ten other people entered the bedroom. Unexpectedly, Alice had a premonition. A white blur flashed behind her dazzling, blue-green eyes.

In it, she was watching through a dusty, rectangular window. In it, our or five people were in a small hallway, looking around and making way to the other door across the hallway. The lights were all fluorescent, and most of the people inside the hallway were nearly squinting. Behind her she heard another three or so people quietly talking. Suddenly, still looking through the glass, Alice saw a laser emerge from out of nowhere. Swiftly floating across the room, it sliced right through one of the Commandos. Coming back the other way, it cut off the same short, broad shouldered woman who had talked to Alice, with heat steaming off of her now gushing neckline. Alice flashed back into the bedroom.

"She's not responding." The woman said. "Maybe it was the-" Her voice trailed off from Alice, as the flashback now continued. Again, looking through the dusty window, she saw a large, black man getting ready for the laser. Behind her she could hear screaming.

"Open it!"

"Shit. I'm trying!"

"Kaplan open the door! Its coming!"

The man clenched his hands into fists as the laser came back at him. But he could not simply jump over it. The laser had become a grid of lasers, speeding at him. Alice looked away in shock, not wanting to see what would happen next.

"Kaplan!"

"Hold on. I almost got it!" Kaplan screamed.

"Hurry up!" a woman said.

"Got it!" He replied.

Alice looked back into the window, hoping that the man hadn't gotten sliced in half, but when she looked, she almost threw up. He fell into pieces as Alice watched in horror.

Suddenly, the vision stopped. Alice felt control of herself once more.

"Kaplan!" She blurted out, without thinking. The room suddenly became eerily quiet, as everyone looked at her. The man known as Kaplan stared at her with questioning eyes.

"Yes?" He asked, not sure how she knew his name.

A flood of memories came over Alice at that very moment. Six years of thoughts and emotions rushed into her mind at an intense rate. For more than two minutes, she was reminded of feelings she had felt in seemingly another life, as the others stood there, waiting for a response. She suddenly remembered the man in the photograph, Spence. She remembered that fateful day, a day almost exactly like this one, where she lost Rain and Kaplan and Matt. She remembered getting out of the hospital and saving Angie. She remembered the five years she spent on the road, slowly killing off all of the undead. She remembered Claire's fleet of survivors and destroying Tyrant. But most of all, she remembered Carlos. Everything about him. The way he smiled whenever the two of them talked, how his eyes would glisten when he was talking to her, and that final minute of his life when the two of them ultimately kissed. She remember it all.

"I'm Alice. And I'm not letting you die."


	2. Into the Hive

Chapter 2: Into the Hive

The nine of them swiftly walked down the giant, silver staircase, down into the very basement of the manor. Along the wall on the opposite side of the room was a large, brown train. The Alexi-5000 was written on the front of it, beneath the umbrella logo. As the train was slowly revealed to Alice, her breath shortened. Inside of the train, she knew, was Spence. The moment he were to fall out of that small closet, she would most likely want to kill him. But she had to control herself, even if she was a bio-weapon. Or, perhaps she was not that, just yet.

"The date…" she murmured to herself, thinking maybe she hadn't had a premonition, but rather, a memory.

"What did you say?" another woman demanded assertively. She was not the same tough looking lady as before, though she too looked well built, for a female. No, this woman was of Spanish ancestry, and she kept her dark brown hair in a low braid, besides two small pieces of hair hanging from the side of her face. Her eyes had a certain darkness about them that brought shivers up Alice's spine. Rain, she knew instantly. If ever there was any woman that she had loved, she knew it to be Rain.

"What's the date today?" Alice tried to say as nonchalantly as possible, although she could hear that her voice had cracked. Thinking of what had happened in the past, or perhaps what might happen, unnerved her. Looking at all of them now, Rain, One, Kaplan, J.D., Matt, Olga the field medic, Twelve, and Alfonso, she remembered all of their deaths, especially the four deaths she had had a vision of just 14 minutes ago. All the others looked at her, but she persisted to give a questioning look at them.

"Uh…" Kaplan replied, "June 18th."

"No. I mean the year." Alice clarified. The rest of the group gave her a strange look, as they all stood there next to the large, train.

"We don't have time for this." Rain said, her voice filling up the room with a hint of irritation. But Alice didn't care, she just wanted to know the date. _Carlos might be alive_, she thought to herself, _Please let him be alive._

"Two-thousand" Alice heart jumped as she waited for Kaplan to finish what he was saying. Her hands began to sweat as she thought of Carlos. Everything about him, from his mysterious, dark brown eyes, to the way he would chuckle at everything.

"_Just promise me one thing; When you get down there."_

Alice tried hopelessly to drone out his voice.

"and three." She nearly collapsed with shock. Carlos was still alive. At least, she hoped. But even that tiny flicker of hope helped her. Carlos was alive, and Alice would find him. No matter what, Alice would find him.

"Let's go!" Rain persisted angrily, checking her watch. The group quickly moved onto the train, one by one. Alice was the last to get on, apprehensive that she would soon see Spence. Mixed emotions filled her mind. Half of her wanted to get on the train and tear him to shreds, while half of her did not want to go further into the hive. She knew what lied in that enormous sanctuary of death, although, she didn't want to.

As she got onto the train, she had another premonition. This time, Carlos was staring deep into her eyes.

"Alice," he said slowly, not sure how what he was going to say next, "Alice please, you've got to get out of this trance." The pleading in his voice almost made her want to cry. But she couldn't ; she was paralyzed. She was being controlled again, just like she was in Vegas. The Alice on the train, half aware what was happening, realized slowly that umbrella was controlling her in the vision. She came in and out of focus, half paying attention to Carlos, half trying to see if Spence was in the closet. The world spun out of control, and she fell to the ground. Suddenly, she was fully back on the train.

"I'm a monster." She whispered lightly to herself. She was still a bio-weapon, no matter what the date was. Matt realized that she had fallen, and in a heartbeat, helped her up. The two of them looked at each other, and Matt gave her an awkward smile. She smiled back, realizing that Matt had been the first man she had cared about here, the first that she had loved. But he had died. Or at least, that's what happened before, when he was Nemesis. But now, Alice came to realize, she had a chance to change that.

"Lie still." The medic, Olga, said. "Lie still!" Those words suddenly pulled Alice back to reality. It seemed now to Alice, that she was thinking more than usual. But then, who wouldn't, what with being in the past and having premonitions every twenty minutes. But now, she could see the truth. Spence was there.

"How many fingers?"

"Three." Spence replied hoarsely. The moment he spoke, Alice jumped. Five years of not hearing his voice, or at least, five years worth of memories, was a bit too much to bear. Almost every night, she had dreamt about him, how he left the three of them to die in that room. Although, they could have been just memories. Thoughts jumbled up in her mind, thinking of what was real and if her memories had really happened. If felt as if just yesterday, she had said goodbye to Carlos for the last time, defeated Tyrant, and was on her way to Alaska with her clones, to meet Claire's convoy. But then, she remembered, she never made it to Alaska. The plane had crashed.

"_I'm missing you already."_

The bio-weapons bright eyes flickered, as she tried to gain control of her thoughts. All she knew was Spence was there now. However much she wished to destroy his very soul, she had to control herself.

"Good. Now tell me your name."

"I don't know." He replied.

_I know your name, _Alice thought, _you asshole: Spence. The reason all of the people in this train have died._


	3. The Long Ride There

Chapter 3: The Long Ride There

As the small group sat there on the speeding train, Alice began to think deeply again, emotions running wild. She thought about everything that had happened in those long, five years after the events of the "nuclear power plant meltdown" at Raccoon City. Jill, Angie, L.J., Carlos, and herself were on the helicopter that crashed, leaving only Alice behind. The others had somehow gotten away, far from Umbrella and their corrupt ways. They crashed in a distant land, the Arklay Mountains, far away from the city. Alice was the only one left, the others nowhere to be found. Soon afterward, Dr. Isaacs and his fellow employees from Umbrella found her, nearly dead. She spent days in the water tank in his laboratory, floating in the green-tinted water. Finally, one night, she woke up. Through the glass, she saw Dr. Isaacs looking at her, watching everything she did.

The train shook, obstructing Alice of her thoughts.

"Hey." Matt said, right beside her. "Are you okay?" Alice didn't answer, only gazed off into space. If she hadn't remembered him, she would've responded right away, but it was too painful to look at him. Seeing Matt reminded her of Nemesis, the monster who had sacrificed himself for her. Of course, the two were the same being, but that thought only deepened the pain. Without him, she would have never made it past Cain and his soldiers.

"You must've dozed off." He continued, ignoring her obvious rudeness.

"I was just thinking," she replied indifferently. She could not have anymore detail than that; if she had, she would've over explained herself. And one thing that she did not want to do is over explain herself. They already suspected something strange from what had happened in the bedroom.

"Oh." Matt hesitated, not sure how to go on. "I heard you work for Umbrella, also." The sound in his voice had a hint of fear. Alice knew that he was not a real employee, but rather, he was trying to take Umbrella down. She thought for a while, not wanting to admit she worked for that dreadful corporation.

"Yeah." She answered raucously.

"Well, just from one employee to another, I don't think what they do down there is very legal. I mean-" Alice cut him off.

"Neither do I. "

Matt smiled slightly, glad that she agreed with him. _Maybe she's like me, _He thought to himself.

Alice almost told him everything; how Umbrella was the single most corrupt company in the world, how they would soon spread an evil sickness unto the rest of Raccoon City, and eventually all of Earth, and how their small fleet would most likely die down there. _Almost._ But deep down inside she knew that she mustn't tell anyone, as she would be rendered a freak. Not that she wasn't one: five years of increasing telepathical abilities had had a surprising toll on her mental stability. Some days she felt as if no one in the world knew what she was going through, although, that was true. But then again, she didn't know what had happened and what hadn't. They could be memories, or they could be premonitions. Then again, she might not even be conscious right now; this isn't the first time she had a strange dream. But even if it was just a dream, it felt to her like much more. To Alice, it felt like a second chance to save everyone that she had cared about. To save everyone she had ever loved.

_Carlos, I… _Her own voice echoed in her mind.

_Save it. _Carlos's voice sounded so perfect, even as he was about to face his death.

"Can I tell you something?" Matt's voice sounded over her memory/vision, pulling her out of her thoughts once more.

"Sure." She responded quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly. But she had to know what he was going to say. Although, she had a good guess.

"I'm not really an employee." Matt said, lowering his voice. Alice pretended to be surprised, but he wasn't convinced. He looked around conspicuously, making sure that no one was listening to their conversation. "I mean, I am, but I'm trying to get evidence to take Umbrella down. You are too, aren't you?"

Alice had nothing to say but yes. He smiled slightly, half amused, and half comforted. _Good, _he thought, _maybe you can help me._

"But I don't think you know what's down there." she told him solemnly. The moment she said this, Matt got a worried look on his face.

"What do you mean?" He worriedly asked.

"Well," Alice hesitated. She thought in her head, making sure to word everything perfectly. _To tell the truth, a giant horde of bio-weapon mutants are down there are waiting in the offices, waiting to tear all of us to shreds. _Of course, that's not at all what she told him.

"Why would we be riding a train to the hive in such an urgent manner? And besides, maybe there is a reason we don't remember anything. Do you even know your name?"

Matt didn't reply at first, in deep thought.

"Matthew Addison." He finally said after a long time of uncertainty. "Do you remember yours?"

"It's Alice. It's just Alice." She gave Matt a strange look, as if she had told him something that she shouldn't have. "Look, I don't think we should go down there. I don't have a good feeling about it.

"I'm sure everything will be perfectly fine." he said reassuringly, although she could hear a trace of fright in his words.

_You're all going to die down here._

Alice tried hard to get the voices of her past out of her head, though she failed again.

"Maybe we should-" another bounce from the train disrupted her thoughts.

"Stop talking about it." Matt finished her sentence. He hadn't asked her; he knew that was what Alice was going to say. But altogether, the both of them didn't want to stop their conversation. Alice was just afraid she might say the wrong thing and give away her position, while Matt was just trying to comfort her.

From the corner of her eye, Alice could see Spence kept glancing at her. A disgusted feeling formed inside of her. _He must've remembered what happened last night,_ she told herself, angry that she had done such a thing with him. Spence saw her look at him, and smiled broadly. Moving on the opposite side that Matt was on, he sat down next to her. Matt looked up, a bit protective over Alice.

"Hey." He said in his charismatic voice.

"Hi." Alice said, not making eye contact with him.

"So, you work for Umbrella?" He asked her.

It was hard for Alice to respond, the feeling still thriving inside of her. "Yeah, I guess. I don't remember much." She lied. "Do you?"

"I think. I hardly even remember what Umbrella is." He replied. Sweat beaded on his handsome face, as the train compartment was stuffy and humid.

The two of them were quiet for a long time. Nothing happened of significance. Rain checked her watch a few times, Kaplan was typing something in his laptop, and One was staring out of the shiny windows. After a long while, Spence broke the silence.

"You look cold." He had noticed that she was crossing her arms and had goose bumps.

"I'm fine." She replied haughtily. He looked at her strangely but still persisted.

"No really," He persevered, "take my jacket." Alice's thoughts ran wild, but she soon realized that she had to accept. She had to make everything the same as before, even if that meant doing things that she didn't want to. Suddenly the train stopped, nearly tipping Alice over. She looked up, her aqua eyes hovering over the windows and what was outside of them.

_Just promise me one thing… when you get down there…_

_Consider it done._

They were inside of the Hive.


	4. A Memory Relived

Chapter 4: A Memory Re-lived

The moment Alice stepped off the train, she had another flashback. She almost fell to the ground, but fortunately, Matt caught her before she fell. In the vision, she was in the water tank at Dr. Isaacs lab. She was hardly able to keep her eyes open, and was floating in the strange, green water. Dr. Isaacs was looking at her, his eyes wild with imagination. Alice couldn't tell what was going on, or what he was saying. He was obviously mouthing words, but they were muffled behind the thick layer of glass, although she knew they were directed at her.

"Start the purging process." She made out. Suddenly, the water in the tank started to disappear, causing her to hit the bottom of the tank. Outside of the tank, Dr. Isaacs looked at her with a look of thrill and excitement on face. For a moment, Alice couldn't open her eyes. Slowly but surely, the door to the tank opened. In an instant, the doctor was there, holding her up. She opened her dilated eyes, and stared at him. Gently helping her stand up, he helped her over to a corner, where she could stand up on her own.

Glancing across the room, she saw about ten other people in the room, at their desks. On one of the desks was a computer facing toward her. On the screen read _'Project Alice'. _That was the only thing she could read.

The flashback lasted only seconds, but to her it felt like hours. But suddenly, Matt woke her up from the trance.

"Hey, are you alright?" He said in his innocent voice. He was looking at her, his head slightly cocked to the side. She nodded a little, though she was unaware of what was happening to her in reality.

"Alice?" Matt asked, not sure if she was paying attention to him or something else. She gained control of herself after a few seconds, her eyes getting wider.

"Yeah. I'm fine." But deep down inside, she knew she wasn't. Alice knew what was happening to her: Umbrella was controlling her thoughts. For some reason, they wanted to do something to her, to make her realize something. But what was it? She rubbed together her hands, warming herself up. The black, leather jacket that Spence had so willingly gave her did not help at all. If anything, it just made her more cold.

"Does this sort of thing happen to you a lot?" He asked, care glistening in his She gave Matt a questioning look, not understanding what he was talking about.

"I mean, you keep going into these weird…fits. You wont respond for a few seconds, and then you'll suddenly just flash back to reality. Are you okay?" Alice nodded again, a little guilty that she was lying.

"We should just keep-" But One cut her off, saying something important, as he didn't talk much unless it was important.

"You and I have the same employer." He said, his large, muscular arms crossed. The look on his face looked rather irritated, as he had to explain this to all of them. Alice and Matt stopped looking at each other to listen in on what he was saying, although Alice already knew what he was going to say. _We work for…_

"We work for the Umbrella Corporation. The mansion above is an emergency entrance to the Hive." The person who was most intrigued was Spence. The look on his face showed pure interest. He involuntarily ran his fingers through his thick, dark brown hair. _Oh, aren't you just a stud_, thought Alice. She slightly chuckled at this thought, and Matt looked at her strangely. She delicately tugged on his blue button up shirt, indicating that she needed to talk to him. Walking across the cold, train station, the two moved from the others' sight.

"Matt, I think we should get back on the train. Right now. You have no idea what's through that door." She said urgently, pointing to the door they had to go through. He looked at the same, metallic door, a look of fear on his face.

"You know something. What is it?" He inquired. The strongly lit lights in the room glowed against his soft face, creating a look of intensity. Alice stared deep into his bottomless, sky blue eyes, and he in her aqua ones. For a moment, her heart skipped a beat, but suddenly she felt ashamed of herself. She made a promise to herself that she would never love anyone except Carlos, but she could hardly control herself.

"Carlos." She whispered softly. The moment she said his name, the hairs on her arms stood up. It felt as if he was right there beside her, not Matt.

"Who's Carlos?" Matt asked. He looked at her inquisitively through his deep blue eyes, and Alice couldn't help but feel enticed.

"No one." Alice merely replied. The bio-weapon looked away, feeling guilty of herself. Glancing at Rain, who was checking her watch once again and standing near J.D. like always, she realized that they could go through the Hive and still live. _The vents,_ Alice quickly said in her mind. Leaving behind Matt, and walking over to the rest of the group, she blurted out.

"The vents!" Millions of thoughts ran through her mind, as she tried to control them. But they had a chance; they could go through the vent system. The others stared at her as if she was crazy.

"What the hell did you just say?" Rain inquired, slightly stepping closer to her. As always, she looked angry, but Alice simply ignored her. Looking around, she tried to find some sort of vent, but she couldn't find any. Her feet lightly stepped on the floor tiles of the station, as she walked around the room.

"There has to be one around here, somewhere." She muttered to herself, still inspecting the room. As her beautiful, serene eyes wandered around the futuristic train station , one of the Commandos, Alfonso, whispered lightly.

"Freak." The moment this word reached her ears, she almost broke down. That word, that small, single word, brought back another world of memories.

"_You adapted it," The voice of Cain rang in her head. "Changed it. You became magnificent." Alice rolled her eyes at what he said, not convinced. "I became a freak." she replied, hate wreaking in every word that she said. _

"Don't." She said to tall, strapping equipment carrier. The hostility in her voice changed the look on his face from playful, to stern and slightly guilt.

"I…I was just-" he began.

"No," Alice cut him off, "you have no idea."

The rest of the party just looked at her, unsettled that she was so livid. Behind Twelve, Alice saw a metallic clock hanging on the wall, ticking as usual. Alice thought to herself for a moment, a bit saddened. _All of the people here are just like that clock. They'll do the same thing, just like they did the first time this happened. They'll tick, exactly like the clock on the wall. Over and over again, repetitiously. _Sensing something was wrong with her, Matt slowly moved toward her, with his comforting smiled faintly showing. As he reached her, he soothingly placed his arm around her shoulders.

Immediately, she broke down in tears. Rain scoffed, insensitive as usual. One, who was sitting down on a bench chair, observed everything she did. Spence, however, was giving Matt a stony stare. Matt looked up at him, sighed a little, then looked at the woman he was holding in his arms. Matt could sense already that Spence did not like him because of Alice. Spence must've been jealous of him, although the two hadn't exchanged more than two words to each other.

Alice suddenly lifted her head, wiping off the tears from her face. She had made a decision, giving up her idea.

"Lets go."


	5. Meet the Queen

Chapter 5: A Hallway of Memories

Emerging from the other side of the door, another staircase was waiting for them, its metallic look a bit intimidating.

"Great." Rain said, obviously annoyed. "More stairs." J.D. smiled, and was the first to go down the multitude of shiny, metal stairs. Gleaming against the strangely soft fluorescent lights, they almost looked as if they were blue. Following him, as always, was Rain. The two walked quickly, and the others followed along. Alice was at the back of the group, behind Spence, and in front of Matt. The latter stepped next to Alice, and smiled broadly.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked again. Alice simply nodded, and looked at the ground. Although she wanted to tell him everything, to spill her heart out to him, she remained silent. _Its for the best, _she told herself. But she couldn't believe that.

"There's something I have to tell you." She told him, as they moved down the never-ending stairs. "Matt…I-" But Matt cut her off before she could finish.

"Save it. You don't have to tell me. It's your secret to keep." He said, still smiling.

_Carlos…I-_

_Save it. _

The voices of her past rang over and over again in her head. She tried droning out the voices of her past, tried shushing them inside her head. But she could not. Alice stopped walking, and Matt could tell something was wrong with her, and his smile quickly disappeared.

"Alice?" He cautiously said, although to Alice he sounded muffled and distant. She began to fall, but Matt caught her before she reached the ground.

"One!" He yelled to the large man. One slowly turned around, and seeing that Alice had fainted, ran back up the stairs. The others in the front of the group all stopped, and watched what was going on. "What happened?" He demanded, crouching down next to him. Matt looked at the large commando through his now icy, worried eyes, and wiped his dirty face of sweat.

"I…don't know. She was telling me something, and I cut her off. And she just…fell." He explained to the robust man. One looked at Matt for a few seconds, then stood up and turned around.

"Help her." He ordered at the Medic. Olga quickly turned around and walked to One, Matt, and Alice. Looking slightly annoyed, she took out of her pocket the same chemical solution that she used to wake up Spence in the train. She held it out in front of the magnificent bio-weapon's face, yet she did not stir at all.

"One, she's not waking up." Olga quickly said to One, after a few seconds.

_Bullshit, _he thought to himself, stealing a line from Rain. But he said nothing, only sighed.

"Well we can't wait. We'll just have to carry her."

******************************************************************************************

"I think she's waking up." Alice heard someone say, although it was stifled. Her vision was blurred, but she could just barley make out the shape of Spence's rugged face from above her. For some reason, he was carrying her in his arms. Matt walked beside Spence, occasionally smoothing back Alice's sweaty hair from her face. For a moment, Matt and Spence locked eyes with each other, but neither of them talked. But they both thought the same thing. _She's mine. _

"Set her down." One ordered. Spence carefully set her down, with Matt's uninvited aid. The two of them glared at each other, each wanting to appear as the one to help Alice.

"Move." Spence directed at Matt aggressively, holding Alice's limp head. Matt gave him a look that just screamed _fuck off, _but kept to himself, and took a few short steps back.

As she was being situated, she managed to say something. Of course, it was the same name she managed to speak every time.

"Carlos." She whispered gently, getting the undivided attention of both Matt and Spence. _Who? _the man known as Spence Parks mouthed to himself, and whoever was watching him. The Red Queen. That homicidal bitch was just behind a camera, or perhaps watching them from behind a motion sensor screen. No matter what, she was watching. And getting ready to do anything.

"You can't help her." She said, suddenly appearing in holographic form from behind the group. They all turned around to look at her, startled.

"Umbrella has control over her now." She explained herself. "There is nothing you can do but wait."

Rain checked her big, metallic watch once again.

"We don't have that kind of time."


	6. The Truth

Chapter 6: The Queen's Royal Chamber

A deep breath. That is all it took to excite both Matt Addison and Spence Parks. Alice, however, was not excited. In fact, she was struggling to even stay awake.

"Hey," Matt yelled at someone, "hey guys, she's waking up!" To her, his muffled voice was comforting, although it had just a hind of anxiety. Slowly the world became more and more clear as she blinked. After a few moments of repeated eye movements her surroundings were crystal clear, if not more; sometimes what Umbrella did to her weren't so bad. She was lying down on a pavement floor. The walls around her were, as usual, metallic, and strangely, there were no lights in the small room. However, she could see everything that was near her.

Next, she realized what room they were in: The Queens Chamber. She studied the room closely, with much uneasiness. Next to the computer console in the middle of the room, stood Kaplan. She could taste his trepidation on her lips; it tasted metallic, like blood. The red, coagulated blood of her fallen comrades who had died in the past, but were in the very room that she was in now. Alive. Alive. Alive. Alice.

In the farthest corner of the room from Alice, J.D. and Rain stood quietly, observing everything that went on. As Rain's graceful, brown eyes glided across the room, they met Alice's. For a moment, they locked, but after a second, Alice looked down, thoughts crawling inside of her mind, echoing into her throat, and trying to make it through her irony flavored lips.

By pure intuition, Alice knew that Matt and Spence were behind her, most likely glancing at each other every few minutes. Glaring at each other.

After studying the room for a while, a thought crashed into Alice; Where was One?

"Where…is One?" She said in a tired voice, not fully aware of what was going on. No one answered her right away, and after a short sigh, she asked, "Well?" Rain winced at this small word, and returned an equally menacing word: "Dead."

As if the whole damned world had collapsed, Alice screamed. Slowly, her heartbeat raised to her throat, and she nearly fell over from her sitting position.

"Rain," Kaplan said right away, "just stop it." "Alice," He said with a less harsh tone, "Don't worry. He's not dead. Rain has always had a bad sense of humor." As he said that, Rain smirked. "He just went to go check out the next area with the rest of the team."

"You mean," Alice started, lines of worry now appearing on her face, "the doors are opened? You cut the power off?" Kaplan nodded, noticing the look on her face.

"Shit."

"What is it?"

"We have to go find him." She said quietly, as if talking to herself. And without waiting for the others to follower her, she got to her feet, and ran into the other room.

******************************************************************************************

"One?" Alice said cautiously, looking around the giant pillars of the room. "One?" She repeated after no one answered. Instead, only her echo responded to her in the large room.

As she was about to repeat her question, she felt a soft hand touch her shoulder, and she turned around quickly, only to see the face of Kaplan. He smiled faintly at her, and she returned the kind gesture.

"Listen," he said, making no attempt to hesitate this time, "We've all been talking, and its strange, really. Like something from Dean Koontz book. But we've decided to ask you, and…well…have you been through this before?"

His question surprised Alice, although she knew it would come eventually. She locked eyes with the man known as Chad Kaplan, and sighed.

"Chad…I keep having," She paused, and sighed once again. "deja-vu. No, that doesn't really explain it. I feel like I've been here before. Lived through this. It's more than just deja-vu."

Kaplan looked at her through stunned eyes, although they shown no signs of incredulity. _Maybe he believes me, _she thought. _Maybe…_

"Alice?" One's familiar voice finally replied. The bio-weapon and the computer technician stared at each other for one more second, before they both looked at One, who was walking toward them. "What were you calling me for?" He asked, and the girl known as Alice shrugged. "I was wondering: How did you get past the laser-hallway?"

* * *

**Sorry this chapter was not very good. I'm going through a terrible state of writers block, so bear with me. :( **

**Hopefully by next chapter, I'll be rid of that terrible curse. Writers block be damned.**


	7. The Caterpillar

Chapter 7: The Caterpillar

"One?" Alice's soft voice echoed in the large room, trying desperately to knock away the paralyzed stare that lay across his face. A moment passed, and only the sound of the heavy breathing of Alfonso, Twelve, and Olga could be heard, as they loped quietly to the rest of the group. As they got closer to Alice, Kaplan, and One, they silently looked from the pale face of the large man, to the confused bio-weapons. None of them looked at Kaplan, however. No one cared about him.

"What's going on?" Twelve said, noticing the astonished, but terrified, look on One's face. Slowly, the large black man shook his head from side to side. _Nothing_, it meant.

And no words came from him. It was as if his throat had collapsed into itself by pure shock. He struggled for a few seconds, not sure how to speak.

"One?" The woman said once again, and this time she met the command's large, brown eyes. She could see deep inside of them. They were questioning her. They were scrutinizing her. They hated her.

"How did you-"

"The others told me," She cut him off, afraid to hear the rest of the question. "Rain told me all about it. She told me about the lasers, and," Alice thought back to the first time she was in the Hive. She thought of watching through the small window, as Olga lost her head and Twelve dying of shock. She thought of Alfonso jumping into his death. But most of all, she thought of watching in horror as One was cut up, grated into a hundred of pieces by the blue-green laser. Just before Kaplan got the Red Queen's defenses down.

"and how you made it…out of the hallway."

"Oh." One said plainly. "Oh." he repeated, after no one spoke. Everyone looked from the faces of each other, getting ready for something bad to happen. However, no one was prepared for what was about to ensue.

"You bitch," he said aggressively, shoving her into a nearby pillar. "You lying bitch! How the _fuck _did you know?" Alice stood there, taking his verbal abuse with a stunned look on her face. Quickly, he pulled back his hand, prepared to strike her.

"Who," he yelled at her, while bringing his large hand across her face. It hurt. "are," another slap, this time with more sting. "you?" the final smack.

Without warning, One was hurled over to the small group of people, and they all backed up as he came near them.

"I don't know!" Alice yelled back, her blue eyes dilated and brimming with hatred. It was Umbrella. She had her powers again.

"I don't know who I am! I've changed too much to know!" Her voice cracked, and she breathed in. Slowly, her pupils returned to regular size. Her eyes flashed the recognizable Umbrella logo. "Umbrella," she heard an unfamiliar female voice say within her mind. "our business is life itself."

A deep, twisting feeling formed within Alice at that moment, and she closed her eyes tightly. "Alice," she said, squatting down next to the large column. "I am…Alice." From beyond her closed eyes, she could sense that One was painfully trying to arise.

"Alice," he reiterated, as the bio-weapon opened her eyes again. "I'm sorry." She could hear just a hint of anger in his voice, but she knew he was genuinely remorseful.

"It's okay," She replied, now setting her hand on her warm, stinging cheek. "It's fine."

******************************************************************************************

"You cut the power?" she asked.

"Yes. Is that bad?" he replied.

"Very bad. I'm not sure if I can go through this again." she told him.

"Why? What happened last time?"

And she told them. She told each and everyone of how they died. And she saved Matt for last.

"Matt, you…" He looked at her, understanding that he had the worst death. "you turned into…something." A pause. And then more words. "You turned into Nemesis."

They all watched Alice as she closed her eyes again, remembering Matt Addison's fate. Nemesis. Cain. Fighting him. And his death.

_I am _not _losing you. _

"Nemesis?" Matt asked, confused at what she was talking about.

Alice looked grimly at Matt, her eyes flowing with sorrow. Her pale lips moved slightly, but she said nothing.

"An experimental project that Umbrella was working on," Kaplan answered before Alice had the chance. "When I was in the Hive a few weeks ago, I heard some employees talking about Nemesis. They said that he'd be B.O.W.: Bio-Organic Weapon. They needed a test subject, though. Said they couldn't find one. If what you're telling us is true," he paused, and looked at Alice, "then Matt is one lucky bastard to be back alive."

Alice chuckled, although it was a nervous laugh. "We're all very lucky. Everyone in this room has died."

"Everyone, but you." Rain corrected her. A smile was printed on her face, although she was overflowing with fear.

"Everyone, but me." Alice repeated, and the harsh words died on her lips. She looked from the faces of her comrades to see if they believed her. From what she saw, they all did.

"So," Matt began, "who's Carlos?" Alice smiled at his question.

"Carlos Olivera. Maybe you know him?" Matt shook his head no, but Twelve nodded.

"I used to work with him. He works with the U.B.C.S. now. I don't blame him; the pay's better."

"Yeah, well…" she hesitated. "I need to find him."

"Then we should move out." J.D. told her, checking his watch. "We're behind schedule."

* * *

**Well, my writers block is gone! WOOOOOOO!! :)**

**Hopefully you guys understand why its called the Caterpillar. Maybe? Please?**

**Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll keep em' comin'. **


	8. The Living, The Dead, The Living Dead

Chapter 8: The Living, The Dead, The Living Dead

It was not until a few minutes later that the zombies arrived. But not before One finally enlightened Alice on how he survived the laser hallway.

"It was, for the most part, Kaplan that prevented us from being cut in half," he began, shivering at the thought of being grated by the grid of lasers. "When the door first locked with us inside of it, he said to not panic and be aware of anything that might suddenly appear." Alice thought of Olga the Medic, and how she had been decapitated before she could move.

"When the laser appeared, we all jumped over it- no problem. When it came back, it was a grid of lasers. A god-damned grid!" He hesitated, studying the look on Alice's face. It hid no traces of shock or surprise. _Then again,_ One thought, wiping the sweat off his brow, _she's probably thought about it for five years. _

"It was speeding toward us like nothing I've ever seen. Right before it got to us, it stopped, and then just like that…disappeared. Her defenses were down again. Alfonso, though, got a few burns. Nothing much, but he said it hurt like hell. Can you imagine it slicing _through _you?" he shook his head at his own question, his eyes closed.

Suddenly, a series of events occurred. Alice's eyes hosted a spot for Umbrella's logo.

"Umbrella, our business is life itself." She heard the disembodied woman say once again.

"What the hell?" Kaplan yelled, seeing the design that flashed inside of her eyes. And then the zombies.

At first, the noise was faint; a subtle, moaning sound. All of them heard the noise, and Alice nearly fell over from anxiety.

"Is that…" J.D. began, and Alice nodded solemnly, whilst resituating herself to a standing position.

"Get ready for them," she warned. ""They're going to come fast and in a pack."

Quickly, the commandos, One, Rain, Twelve, Kaplan, J.D., Alfonso and Olga the medic all raised their Heckler & Koch G36Ks into the area beyond them, where the noise came from.

"How long-" Rain began in an irritated voice, biting her lower lip, but she was cut off by another series of moaning, followed by the faint scratching of metal on a concrete floor.

One looked at Alice across the almost green tinted, metal filled room which contained giant incubators for the Lickers, B.O.W. Bio-weapons which had formerly been test subjects for Umbrella. After a few seconds, Alice realized she was being studied, and returned One's questioning gaze. Their eyes locked for a moment, but the bio-weapon woman quickly shut her eyes, afraid that the Umbrella logo would once again find its way into her eyes, but nothing happened.

_Carlos, I… she begins._

_Save it, he cuts her off sharply._

_Holding back her tears, she nods._

_Just promise me one thing…_

_Anything, he can tell she wants to say. She loves him._

_When you get down there…_

_Consider it done._

_No_, Alice thought to herself, getting ready for the attack, and at the same time, silently cursing Umbrella. _Not now. Not when they need me. _She glanced around the large room, glimpsing from face to face of her allies. Even Spence Parks, the man she had once had the deepest hatred for, had realized his faults that hadn't even occurred. He was afraid. Rain was afraid. Even One, who never shed even the slightest _hint _of anxiety, was afraid.

Before her eyes, she saw her life. She was a young girl on the school playground, watching all of her classmates tease her as she swung on the swing. Then she was a teenager with un-even cut hair and tears in her eyes. She was smoking a cigarette in her lonely bedroom. Outside, it was a frosty dark afternoon; the day after her mother's death. Her father walked into the room, and punched her in the face, after realizing what she had been doing. She didn't even cower as his fist speeded at her.

Then she was a young woman, getting a tour of Umbrella for the first time by a short man with stumpy legs and a comb-over. Then she was getting "married" to Spence. No, she was killing Spence. No, crying in front of Nemesis. Now, now Nemesis was dead. No, she was waking up in Dr. Isaacs's laboratory. Now she was holding Angie's lifeless, dead boy in her arms. Or maybe she was questioning an ex-Tricell agent about Albert Wesker, holding a knife to his throat. Then she was in Carlos's warm arms. Then his sacrifice. Killing Isaacs. Getting on the plane to Alaska. Then crashing. Crashing. Dying.

"Our business is life itself!" Alice screamed through clenched teeth, regaining her thoughts. The others all immediately looked at her, surprised at her abrupt outburst. Without looking at anyone, she whispered "Aim for the head.

"What?" One requested.

"Aim for the head."

Then the first zombie appeared from behind one of the incubators.


	9. Punch, Kick, Snap

Chapter 9: What am I?

_Maybe I'm a monster. Maybe I traveled back in time. Maybe I have ESP._

_Maybe I'm dead._

_I can't be dead, can I? That would mean that everyone else is dead. Rain, Angie, Carlos, Me. No. Dead people are not able to laugh and cry and yell. Dead people don't experience premonitions. Well, neither do living people. So…maybe I'm in an afterlife. Or I'm a memory. Or I'm…Silent Hill? Very funny, Alice._

_What's funny?_

_You._

_I'm funny?_

_Yes. You're absolutely hilarious._

_So, if you think I'm funny, why don't you laugh?_

_Because I'm scared._

_Of what?_

_Myself._

_Why?_

_I'm a killer._

_Get away from yourself!_

_Where would I go?_

_Where do you wish to go?_

_It doesn't really matter, as long as…_

_Then it really doesn't matter where you go._

_Shut up, _Alice angrily said to herself, readying her Heckler and Koch USP that she was hefting in her hands. The weapon felt so plastic-like, like it would just melt into nothing if it was put on a hot surface. A melted-nothing blob of black plastic, with crispy, bubbly areas here and there, and a smell that was almost violent.

_Be quiet, _she scolded herself again, wanting nothing more than to be focused for once. Why couldn't she?

"Because I'm scared." She said quietly to herself. And her words were true; she was terrified of losing everyone again. She was terrified of never finding Carlos. She was terrified of dying.

Before she could reflect anymore on how she was scared, a giant horde of zombies appeared from seemingly nowhere. All of them looked hungry. Hungry for flesh and blood and nothing more.

All ten of them shot vigorously at the nightmarish horde, holding nothing back. Dozens of them fell down, but even after they did, more appeared. After a few minutes of shooting, everyone except Rain ran out of bullets.

"Keep fighting!" She yelled to the others, pushing back a few pieces of sweat-soaked hair that made its way on her face, "I'll keep shooting." And so, for seemingly forever, the small group fought, striking and kicking and snapping necks. Alice couldn't help but allow some tears make way on her face during the brawl. She had had enough of this; fighting for something that she knew in the end would be gone anyway. But she had to try. She knew that's what Umbrella wanted, even if she didn't know exactly way. She had to try.

Before she could think more about her situation, a bio-weapon clad in an Umbrella uniform shuffled to her, moaning and groaning and growling angrily. _Quick,_ Alice said to herself.

Quickly she side stepped to the right, landed a few punches on the zombie, and finally, round house kicked it right in the face, with a _snap._

Turning around, she took on two more zombies. Punch, kick, _snap_. Punch, kick, _snap_.

Then a whole group of the cannibal creatures, each of them staring at Alice with death in their eyes. And hunger, but mostly death.

One of them growled slowly, and Alice kicked it in the stomach. It flew back, and landed on its soft, post-mortem cranium.

More kicks and hard punches followed.

Before a particularly ghastly looking bio-weapon lunged itself at Alice, Rain shot it, getting a well-placed head shot.

"Thanks," Alice offered, and Rain nodded.

"I've had enough of this bullshit. How much more?" Alice thought for a moment, but said nothing. She didn't know. "Never mind,"

And for about ten more minutes, the battle continued, never stopping for one moment.

Sweat rolled down Alice's soft face, but never for a second did she wipe it off; she was too busy killing the zombies.

_Snap,_ kick. Growl, _snap, _punch. One of the creatures tried to bite her, sneaking behind her to grab a hold of her arm, but before he could, she took hold of his head, and snapped his neck.

And finally, J.D. killed the last one with a _crack_.

* * *

Hundreds of dead (or re-dead, for that matter) zombies were on the ground, making a stench so agonizing that a few times, Kaplan threw up. Silently, Alice patted his back, whispering to him "It's okay, Kaplan. We're going to get out of here soon."

And so, after a few more minutes of resting, the convoy left the foul smelling room, and starting shuffling into the next.

"Wait," Alfonso said, pointing to the elevator, " why don't we just take the elevator?" Alice smiled softly, recalling the events of before.

"You don't want to do that, believe me."

"Why not?"

Although it was grim, Alice laughed to herself.

"Just trust me. It's not a good idea."

And so the group made their way into the next room, the offices, with haste. It was a very large room, with tables and chairs in the room, albeit most of them were flipped over. The walls were all covered in fingerprints, although there was no blood. Also, no bodies were in the room. It was completely deserted.

"Somebody had a hell of a party in here," Spencer laughed nervously, glimpsing around the disorganized space. Without saying a word, Alice gave him a slight glare. _People have died in here_, was what the look said.

"Sorry," he offered, ashamed. Then slowly, he walked around the derelict room, looking for any sort of survivor. The other's joined in, but no one found anything, except for Matt. He found the small ID card of his sister, Lisa, near her upturned desk.

"Lisa," he whispered, aware that it was too late. She was dead, and there was nothing anybody could do about it. Well, perhaps except for Umbrella.

"Matt?" a soft voice said next to him, and when he looked to his side, it was Alice. She was kneeling down next to him, her eyes wide with concern. _God, she looks beautiful._

"Are you…" before she continued, she looked down at the small card that he was holding in his hand. Her heart sank.

"I'm sorry,"

"Don't be. It's happened before and…"

"Matt," Alice cut him off, looking deep within his dark blue eyes. "don't say that. It only happened to _me, _not you. So don't say that it's happened before. And I really _am _sorry."

"Okay, okay," he replied, "I understand. I just wish that…"

Before he could finish what he was saying, the power to the Hive went out, turning off all of the lights.

"Kaplan!" Somebody yelled, but there was no reply. After a few seconds, the bright florescent lights came back on. And Kaplan was nowhere to be found.

**Sorry if this chapter completely sucked L Once again I have writers block, but by the middle of this chapter, I kind of picked up. I'll be sure to make another one soon, and I'm working on a chapter for Violent Moon, too. **


	10. In Which Alice Faces Her Problem

Chapter 10: In Which We Learn of Umbrella's Motives

"Our whole existence starts to change. We're both with love and born with rage." - New World, Emigrate

"What the fuck?" J.D. said angrily, kicking a nearby table in the dreadfully untidy office. "This is going to slow us down!"

"Slow us down?" Alice implored, stupefied. "We're _missing _Kaplan!"

The small collection of survivors, except for One, who went to go seek out Kaplan, dwelled in the room, deliberating what to do.

"Maybe he went to the bathroom," Rain offered, sighing at how inconsistent Chad was at times.

"In this piss-hole?" J.D. said skeptically. "I doubt it. Not by himself, at least," He quickly shot a glance at Alice with a small smirk on his face.

"First off, J.D.," Spence started irately, while at the same time whirling his marriage band around his ring finger, "Those jokes of yours are not making this situation any better for anyone, okay? Secondly, instead of debating whether that cowardly bitch you people keep calling a commando is taking a piss or trying to get back on the Alexi-5000, why don't we look for him as well? And third, Alice," he hesitated, looking at the flummoxed bioweapon, "why the _hell_ didn't you tell us about these flesh eating degenerates _before_ we entered the hive?"

"Its…" she began, staring at the small, golden band that Spence was still whirling on his finger. Something about that ring triggered thoughts.

Suddenly, her mind began to race. Images of Umbrella laboratories, experiments, and certain employees sped through her mind, and were projected into her personal vision. She felt a familiar feeling, and all of a sudden felt herself drop to the floor, losing consciousness.

_There was a man tied to a chair in the small room. He had timid, grey eyes and a handsome face that was framed with fluffy, black hair. His name was Chad Kaplan._

"_Get me out of here," he said, panting heavily while grimacing in pain. Blood was gushing out of a large cut on his forehead. "Umbrella," he continued, trying hard to loosen the ropes that bound his hands together, "they know you're still alive. It's Umbrella doing all of this. Alice, get me out of-" _

_He screamed in pain, interrupting his words. More thick, dark red blood seeped out of the wound, traveling down his grimy, sweaty face, then to his chin where eventually the drops of blood gracefully beaded off. _

"_Please," he beseeched after a long moment. "We need to get out of here. I know you can hear me, so please. Get me out."_

Alice gasped for air, her lungs nearly completely deprived of oxygen. She began sputtering saliva, and opened her eyes.

"Oh, God." She heard a woman's voice say in a relieved tone. "I thought she was dead this time."

"What?" Alice grumbled while sitting up and rubbing her head. She looked around the room, saw that it was Rain that had spoken, and realized that One was back. Slowly, she willed herself to stand up. Eventually, she did, her knees wobbling, and took in a deep breath.

"One, where's Kaplan?" she inquired at the tall, black man. He smirked disdainfully.

"He's still gone. I couldn't find him." One said unfavorably. Alice sighed in frustration.

"I had a vision of him," she said quietly, slightly higher than a whisper. He was…he was-" _Tell them already, _she told herself. But for some reason, she couldn't recall where he was.

"Alice, where is he?" Matt asked somewhat impatiently, but Alice was having too much trouble remembering.

Chapter 10: In Which We Learn of Umbrella's Motives

"What the fuck?" J.D. said angrily, kicking a nearby table in the dreadfully untidy office. "This is going to slow us down!"  
"Slow us down?" Alice implored, stupefied. "We're missing Kaplan!"  
The small collection of survivors, except for One, who went to go seek out Kaplan, dwelled in the room, deliberating what to do.  
"Maybe he went to the bathroom," Rain offered, sighing at how inconsistent Chad was at times.  
"In this piss-hole?" J.D. said skeptically. "I doubt it. Not by himself, at least," He quickly shot a glance at Alice with a small smirk on his face.  
"First off, J.D.," Spence started irately, while at the same time whirling his marriage band around his ring finger, "Those jokes of yours are not making this situation any better for anyone, okay? Secondly, instead of debating whether that cowardly bitch you people keep calling a commando is taking a piss or trying to get back on the Alexi-5000, why don't we look for him as well? And third, Alice," he hesitated, looking at the flummoxed bioweapon, "why the hell didn't you tell us about these flesh eating degenerates before we entered the hive?"  
"Its…" she began, staring at the small, golden band that Spence was still whirling on his finger. Something about that ring triggered thoughts.  
Suddenly, her mind began to race. Images of Umbrella laboratories, experiments, and certain employees sped through her mind, and were projected into her personal vision. She felt a familiar feeling, and all of a sudden felt herself drop to the floor, losing consciousness.

There was a man tied to a chair in the small room. He had timid, grey eyes and a handsome face that was framed with fluffy, black hair. His name was Chad Kaplan.  
"Get me out of here," he said, panting heavily while grimacing in pain. Blood was gushing out of a large cut on his forehead. "Umbrella," he continued, trying hard to loosen the ropes that bound his hands together, "they know you're still alive. It's Umbrella doing all of this. Alice, get me out of-"  
He screamed in pain, interrupting his words. More thick, dark red blood seeped out of the wound, traveling down his grimy, sweaty face, then to his chin where eventually the drops of blood gracefully beaded off.  
"Please," he beseeched after a long moment. "We need to get out of here. I know you can hear me, so please. Get me out."

Alice gasped for air, her lungs nearly completely deprived of oxygen. She began sputtering saliva, and opened her eyes.  
"Oh, God." She heard a woman's voice say in a relieved tone. "I thought she was dead this time."  
"What?" Alice grumbled while sitting up and rubbing her head. She looked around the room, saw that it was Rain that had spoken, and realized that One was back. Slowly, she willed herself to stand up. Eventually, she did, her knees wobbling, and took in a deep breath.  
"One, where's Kaplan?" she inquired at the tall, black man. He smirked disdainfully.  
"He's still gone. I couldn't find him." One said. Alice sighed in frustration.  
"I had a vision of him," she said quietly, slightly higher than a whisper. He was…he was-" Tell them already, she told herself. But for some reason, she couldn't recall where he was.  
"Alice, where is he?" Matt asked somewhat impatiently, but Alice was having too much trouble remembering.

"I...don't know," she started to say, losing focus. C'mon, Alice. Just tell them! Why can't you-

"Just tell them," she mumbled to herself, groaned, and rubbed her forehead as if doing that would suddenly bring back thoughts of where Kaplan was.

"Just answer the question," Rain said impatiently, checking her watch. "We're running out of time. And we really can't afford to run out of time."

"The boiler room," she finally said, her head clearing. "He was in a boiler room, bound and he had a gash on his forehead."

"Where?" Rain asked even more impatiently this time. "Where the hell is this goddamn mother-fucking boiler room?"

"If Kaplan were here, we'd have the schematics," J.D. pointed out, shifting himself so that he was right beside Rain. "So, looks like we're just going to have to search for a boiler room. I wonder if there's a basement in this place."

"A basement?" Rain replied to him, moving her eyes from her watch to the eyes of her comrade. She had a look of anger, if not desperation, on her face. "This entire building is a basement! We'll never find him like this. Don't you have some kind of," she hesitated, scrutinizing Alice, "Umbrella Radar or something?"

"I'm a bioweapon, not a terminator," she facetiously remarked. "But, I have a feeling that we're being set up by Umbrella. I... I shouldn't be remembering all of these things. I hate myself for saying this but this isn't what is supposed to happen. You're all supposed to..." She trailed off, shifting her gaze from friend to friend until she had glanced at everyone in the room.

"Die," Matt said silently to himself. He looked hurt, but he knew it was the truth.

"Yeah," Alice replied to him, and not only to him, but to the rest of the group. "You were all supposed to die except for Matt and I,"

"Like brother and sister," Matt said to Alice, remembering something that she had mentioned before. "But that doesn't have to happen! You were given this second chance for a reason, Alice. Things can change; things can always change when needed the most, and we are in dire need of this. If you really think we should be dead right now, then so be it, but we aren't, and we're aware of what is going to happen now." He hesitated, but soon found himself speaking again before anyone could interrupt him. "You mentioned before something about a man named Carlos; he died, didn't he? You couldn't bring him back and you knew that, but Umbrella has brought him back. I don't know how they can change time like this, and I really don't care to find out, but you have the chance to fix all of this. You can save everyone on Earth if you really try."

Alice felt her heart suddenly beat faster at these words. She knew they were true, but she couldn't bear to face how awful it made her feel deep down inside. She had been selfish, worrying only about herself and Carlos surviving, and not giving any second thoughts on how everyone else was dealing with the recent events. She could feel her legs start to quiver under her weight, so she quickly sat down on a nearby desk, wary that she might faint yet again and trigger another series of strange events. Finally, she met Matt's eyes.  
"You're right." She said. Although everyone was waiting for her to say more, she never did. Instead, she sat up, breathed in deeply, and with a look of complete determination on her face, she walked back into Dining Hall B.  
"C'mon," Rain said, following her lead, and the others followed her.

**_Dearest Readers: Thank you all for having such faith in me, even though I haven't updated in a VERY, VERY long time. I've been spending time working on more traditional art. However, I am definitely planning to come back to this story again, and I hope to someday soon finish it. I still have quite a few chapters left from what I have planned, but I am completely ready to take on the challenge :3 I'll update soon!_**


	11. Checkmate

Chapter 11: Checkmate

The Red Queen would know how to fix this. She had to. _Needed_ to. The idea had hit Alice like a train the second Matt had finished talking to her. It hit her as if she had been standing in front of the Alexi itself.  
The Red Queen, modeled after Angela Ashford, Dr. Ashford's kind yet somewhat troubled daughter, was indeed a homicidal bitch, but for the moment, she was the only one who could help Alice and the others. But especially Kaplan.  
"How do we find him?" Alice yelled into the air, hopeful that the Queen could her hear from Dining Hall B. "How do we find Kaplan down here?" She breathed in deeply. The sound of her breath reminded her that she was still alive; it comforted her.  
However, the sound of the Red Queen's voice did not.  
"Ah, Alice. It's been some time, hasn't it?" The Queen said calmly, if only a little sardonically. The hologram did not appear in the room, and to that Alice was glad. To her, the queen's voice sounded... different. More mature; more human, if possible. Her voice sent a chilling shock down Alice's spine, and the feeling reverberated throughout her entire body. She didn't reply for a moment, hoping that it was a rhetorical question, but when the Queen remained silent Alice knew she had to talk to her.  
"Yes. I...," she began to say, but her voice gave out. By now, Rain, J.D., Spence, One, Matt, and the others were in the room with her, presumably all with palpating hands and curious eyes.  
"I need to know where Kaplan is," she stated while deciding to forget what the Red Queen had just said. She remembered Alice. She remember the past life.  
"He," the Queen began to reply, but hesitated. She seemed to be thinking, if possible. _Deliberating_. "was the one who was pulled out of the train?" She finally asked. Something in her voice scared Alice again. Something dark, horrifying. Something that shouldn't have been there.  
"Yes," Alice said, her voice little more than a whisper. She began to feel her mind racing, seeing things from her Past Life once again, like she always did just before she passed out. That's what she had decided to call the memories: her Past Life. It was the best that she could explain it. In fact, it was the _only_way to explain it.  
"You won't find him," she heard the AI tell her.  
"W-what?" Alice heard herself say, but wasn't sure if it was actually her talking. "What did you just say?" Disbelief harbored inside of her gut. She wanted to cry, but she was worried that no tears would come out. She decided against tears anyway. "What did you just say?" she repeated again, and waited for the Red Queen to reply. She tried turning around, but she felt her knees give out and collapsed to the ground immediately.  
"I'm supposed to save them, you bitch." She said angrily, her face contorting into a twisted snarl. She didn't want to be down in the Hive anymore, she didn't want to have to worry about Kaplan anymore. She didn't want this responsibility anymore.  
"Alice," Matt said to her, and held her gently by the arm. Together, with the assistance of Spence, Matt helped Alice to her feet.  
"Why won't we find him?" One asked the Red Queen. The Queen gave out a great laugh, one bigger than a real girl her age could ever muster out.  
"He's already dead," She replied blankly after her big gust of laughter. It was an inhumanely change.  
"You're a fucking liar," Alice breathed, finally getting to her feet. "You're a fucking liar." She repeated it several more times under her breath, so low that not even the Queen could hear it that well. Only her.  
"A fucking liar and a homicidal bitch?" The Queen tried asking innocently, but again gave off the impression that she had changed. Something about her was unreal.  
"What did they do to you?" Alice asked curiously, disbanding what she had just said. "What did Umbrella do to you?"  
"You'll find that not only Umbrella is involved in this, Alice," The Red Queen replied immediately, almost as soon as Alice had finished her question.  
"What the hell are you talking about?" Rain asked angrily. She was frustrated. Like Alice, she only wanted to get out of the Hive and back above ground. "Umbrella is the largest corporation in the world. No one else compares."  
"That's what they told you, yes. That's what they told me, too. But other businesses play a vital role in this game. Do you like chess?"  
"Chess? Fuck chess," Spence was becoming impatient. "Fuck chess, we need to find Kaplan and get the hell out of here."  
"I don't recommend trying to find him, he's not in very good shape."  
"That's exactly why we need to find him, Queen." Alice told her.  
"I suppose, if that's what you want to do." She replied.  
Suddenly, the ground shook with machinery, causing Alice and Rain and the others to topple over each other like some sort of 70s cartoon. They tried to get up off of each other, but it was to no avail. Large crashing machines banged against each other even further underground, like some kind of industrial nightclub. A panel on the floor opened up like the gates of hell, and Alice watched as a platform rose up through the ground. On it stood a single chair, and sitting on top of that was a bound Chad Kaplan. A big black box sat in between his feet on the floor of the platform. Alice recognized it as the Electromagnetic pulse device designed to disable to Queen that had destroyed her in the past life.  
"Kaplan!" she yelled to him, and threw herself off of everyone else. She crawled haggardly towards him, unable to stand up straight just yet; she, along with everyone else, found herself dizzy at the moving of gears underneath them. She neared the chair he was on. "Kaplan, are you okay?" She pushed her hand against his leg, trying to wake him up.  
"Yeah, I'm here," he said clearly, fully awake, although his eyes were closed. "I tried fryin' her,"  
"Yeah, you've done that before," She said jokingly, especially considering their current situation, and grasped the EMP device.  
"Put that down, Alice," The Red Queen advised her darkly. Her voice sent another set of shivers down Alice's spine, but she disregarded the warning.  
"You help us," she said slowly, deliberating her next move. "And I won't hurt you."  
"Checkmate," Kaplan said, and Rain began cutting the ropes that bound him.


	12. The Laws of the Game

Chapter 12: The Laws of the Game

"No, Spence, listen to me," Kaplan said frustratedly, moving his hands rapidly as he spoke, "you can't move into check. It's an illegal move." The short, nervous man known as Chad Kaplan was feeling better already, relieved that he could move once again.

"I'm not following," Spence said quietly, without looking at him. Alice had given him his leather jacket back after she had fallen in the room, apologizing for a few scuffs on the sleeves that hadn't been there before. He wore it warmly, glad to be wearing it again, although he hadn't initially accepted it back from her. "Why can't you move there? This is the stupidest game I have ever heard of,"  
"Because if you could move into check, the game is over. You just _can't _do it,"

"Again, the stupidest game," Spence responded.

Kaplan sighed, giving up. "I guess you just have to be good with logical games," he groaned softly, putting his head up to his forehead, which had been bandaged.

"Logical games," Alice said with a small whisper of sarcasm in her usually demanding voice. "The only logical game is the one the Queen is playing with us right now," she told him. Kaplan looked at her with his small, timid eyes, then sighed.

"You're stressed," he said aloud, and Rain sighed as well. She had been much more silent than usual, but that didn't stop her from grunting or moaning whenever someone made a stupid comment.

"Would you guys shut up for once?" She said irritatedly, rubbing the temple of her forehead. She turned around to face the two men who were arguing about Chess. "We only have," she stopped talking, glancing suddenly at the watch on her wrist, "about 20 minutes to get out of this hell hole. Now, I don't give a shit if you guys bicker when we get out of here, I'll probably never have to see you guys again, anyway. So please," she looked at both Spence and Kaplan, her eyes dark with annoyance, "just be quiet."

"What do you mean by that?" Kaplan asked quietly, intimidated by the strong, young woman. Though he was several inches taller than she, he felt as though she was towering over him, somehow. He shut his eyes and breathed in deeply for a moment, much to the confusion of Rain Ocampo, and when he opened them again, she was checking her watch.

She took a step back from Kaplan and Spence, realizing that they were both rather wary of her, and she replied, "I'm quitting. No way in fucking hell am I doing this again. Fuckin' zombies, JD here dying, no way." JD passed a glance over to them, shuddering. "If what Alice says is true, I don't want to be a part of Umbrella."

Spence looked over to Kaplan, his eyes questioning him, as if to say "What about you? What will you do after this?"

"I'm not sure what I'll do," the technician said. His voice became stronger once again, and he was glad that Rain wasn't so close. In truth, he hated being near her; He was terrified of her.

Alice shushed them. They were being too loud, they'd attract those _things_. Alice, too was terrified of something, but not something she could control. She was terrified, not of getting killed, not of letting the others die. (though she didn't want either of those to happen) She was terrified of Umbrella stopping this experiment that they were doing. She was terrified of waking up suddenly, like she had done not too long ago in the bedroom of Spencer Mansion. She was terrified of going back to what _had _been, the world overrun with zombies and no one but her to stop it.

"The talking, I can't think," she walked through the hallway quickly, speaking lightly to herself. The sound of their footsteps bothered her, click clacking away on the metal floor.

But mostly, she was terrified of letting the same thing happen that had happened before: seeing the infection spread throughout Raccoon City, and not being able to stop it. Death. Destruction. Loneliness.

Just the very thought chilled her mind, and she tried thinking of something happier (**Carlos**), but all she could see was death. She let out a scream.

"Jesus!" One said, grabbing her by the arm and looking into her eyes with bewilderment.

"I can't do it anymore!" She moaned loudly, her eyes becoming watery like the rising tide of an ocean. "I can't do it. Everyone is going to die again, I can't save you," she screamed these words into One's face, not to be rude, but she couldn't control herself. She tried thrashing around, but One was already restraining her. JD grabbed her legs, so she couldn't kick, either.

"Alice, calm down!" JD, along with the others, tried telling her. "We have to get out of here!" He said.

"Get off of me!" She yelled at them, her bright eyes flashing with Umbrella's logo. Her consciousness began to fade. She tried hard to get of out of the grip that James Shade and JD had on her, but they were too strong.

"Someone, knock her out or something!" JD yelled at the others, and Olga the medic was to quick to respond with, "No! We don't know when she'd wake up, or if she even would,"

"Yeah," Matt spoke up for the first time in a while. He had already rushed to the side of Alice with great care, and was rubbing her arm to comfort her while she trashed around.

"Get off!" She yelled once again, looking straight at Matt. Her eyes were still flashing on and off, and she could feel herself falling away from being awake.

"We'll be here when you come back to us," he said quickly, quietly, into the ear of the B.O.W. woman, and she knew exactly what he meant by that. She let herself fall into unconsciousness.

"No, no!" One yelled at her, shaking her body as she blacked out. "Goddamn it, we need you here! Alice, can you hear us?"

Alice screamed again. She didn't know where she was, but it felt as though she was floating in air. It was dark, too dark for her to see anything. She closed her eyes, but realized how bad of an idea that was. When she opened her eyes, it was even darker than before.

"Is anyone there?" She shouted helplessly, but then she began to move, somehow. She felt as if she was moving through time, and it dizzied her.

Suddenly, she arrived to Dr. Isaac's lab after the breakout in Raccoon City. She saw herself in the tank, and she though to herself, _Oh god, no._

"How the hell is this possible?" She asked herself, but then felt herself move once again. When she arrived at her destination, this time, she was in the radio building in the desert, now that the whole world was a desert. She was tying up the dogs with cables.

Before she could even say anything, or try to move, she was once again changing scenes.

Alice was in a plane, in the backseat. She didn't remember this place, but was surprised when she looked to her side and saw Claire Redfield sitting beside her.  
"Claire?" she asked, and the young woman beside her jumped.

"H-how... How did you get here?" she asked, looking at Alice. She reached out her arms to grab her, but then Alice was moving once again. "What the fuck is happening?" She asked herself silently, grabbing her head lightly, her mind full of ache. Then she realized she was spinning, and became even more dizzy than before.

Her last destination was also unfamiliar to her. She saw herself walking through the streets of a city, somewhere she had never been to before. She quickly hid behind an abandoned car on the road she she would not see herself.

Quickly, she glanced around her newest setting, and saw nothing but buildings and crashed cars. "Tokyo," she mumbled to herself, though she did not intentionally say that name. "I'm in Tokyo,"

She could not tell if anyone else was with her, nor did she wish to talk to any of them, if they were there. She just wanted to go back to the Hive. This feeling was strangely ironic, but also true. She missed her convoy.

"One, damn it, throw her over your shoulder!" Rain yelled toward the large man, who was still holding a sprawled out Alice on the floor. He looked solemnly at her, hoping for her to be alright when she woke up.

"We can't do anything until she wakes, Rain."

"You're the one in command here, goddamn it. You don't have to wait for her to do anything, now let's go."

One sighed angrily, shifting his eyes from Rain to JD, then to Twelve and Alphonso, who had been near-silent during the entire operation, then to Kaplan, and finally back to Rain.

"You're right, I'm in command here. And I'm ordering you to wait, commando. She'll come to, soon."

Rain rolled her eyes, but it was true: Just at that moment, Alice opened her eyes and screamed again. She quickly jumped up, before One or JD could constrain her, and she backed up against the metallic wall. Her dyed-blonde hair stuck once again against her face, and she quickly wiped her sweaty face.

"A-Alice?" One said apprehensively. "Are you okay?" This entire experience had really shaken him up, especially since Alice had told him how he had died in the Past Life. He was really never like this. Never nervous, or scared, until now.

"Alice rolled her head toward his direction, and looked deeply into his dark brown, worried eyes. Like a whisper of death, she mumbled quietly, "It's going to get worse,"

"What did you see?" Matt questioned at her, but she did not withdraw her focus on One. "What did you see?"

**Author's Note: **First off, sorry I haven't updated in a goddamn year :0 I've been kind of busy lately, but yeah, I'm trying to get this going again haha. Secondly, I tried borrowing elements from RE: Afterlife and the upcoming Retribution (as well as I could, anyway) I started this story about a year after Resident Evil: Extinction had came out, so until now the story really hadn't had any references to the two most recent films. Anyway, hope this doesn't suck too much and sorry again for never updating :I


	13. Revelation

Chapter 13: Revelation

_This isn't fair_, Carlos thought to himself, lonely in his bunk._ This isn't fair, and Umbrella knows it. _  
Below him, he heard the shuffling of his friend and partner, Nicholai Zinoviev, who was just now coming out of his bout of sleep. Carlos sighed, and rubbed his sore head. He hadn't slept all night, only waited until the morning when he could once again get up. He hated sleeping; He loathed it.  
Not only that, but Carlos had been suffering as of late from an acute case of insomnia.  
"You still awake?" Nicholai asked, yawning widely from beneath Carlos' bed. Though the Russian S.T.A.R.S. officer rarely showed much emotion in what he said, he sincerely worried about his friend. Nicholai yawned once again, and quickly slid his large feet from under his bedsheets, then slipped them to the floor of the barracks.  
"Yes sir," Carlos replied lazily, opening his eyes wide so that he could refresh his eyes. They were weak and tired, yet he could see clearly, not that there was much for him to look at. He stared at the cement ceiling, most nights. Other times, he would sleep on his side, facing the door that lead to the room, watching it, watching for any signal that might be given. He rarely slept, indeed.  
"You really need to kick this habit,"  
"I don't have a habit, Nicholai. Just a pattern. There's a difference," His accent rolled over the name of his friend, but he spoke quickly. "And besides, it's nice to stay awake. You experience more, that way."  
"Yes," The Russian replied, hands covering his face as to wake himself up more, muffling his voice. "But that way, you do not dream."  
"I don't have need for dreams, my friend. Everything I could possibly need is in the waking world. Most things, anyway." He spoke these words to Nicholai with a hint of melancholy. "Anyway," He continued, sitting up on his bed, "We should be getting up now anyway, before One and his crew of baddies bitches us out. Let's go,"  
"Hold on," the other man said quietly, alertedly. He quickly hopped out of bed, turned around, and changed his gaze to stare at Carlos.  
"What?" Carlos asked him slowly, eyes wide open to keep himself awake. It was usually during this time, five or six in the morning, when he became the most tired. Later on, he usually became less and less tired and took a nap around the time the time they got back from a mission, or whatever it may be.  
"One and the other commandos left early," he said, stretching his legs, and walking quickly around the room to energize himself. "Didn't you hear him leave?"  
"No," Carlos said to Nicholai, and then himself got out of his bed, carefully stepping down the bunk ladder, and finally stepping down to the ground. His feet felt good against the cold cement floor. "I couldn't stop thinking,"  
"What about?"  
"I don't know. It was a woman. Something was wrong with her, but I don't remember much," he paused for a moment, waiting until Nicholai was looking at him. "I have a bad feeling about today, Nicholai."  
"What do you mean?"  
From behind Carlos, he heard more shuffling, and quickly turned around. Yuri Loginova, another S.T.A.R.S. mercenary, was starting to wake up. "Shut up, would you guys?" he said tiredly, groaning and then turning onto his other side as to face the wall.  
Carlos leaned in close to the other man, and whispered, "Something is going to happen today. Something not good, I know it," he hesitated, "Something to do with that woman,"  
_Alice_, he said in his head, and instantly knew that it was her name. _Project Alice_.


End file.
